Ensuring Access to Fruits and Vegetables for the Nation’s Most Vulnerable – Contributions of WIC and SNAP

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dena R. Herman
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
The U.S

AbstractThe Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are critical programs in the U.S. because they form the basis of the nation’s nutrition and hunger safety net. SNAP has large effect nationwide offering nutrition assistance to 1 in 7 low-income Americans, while WIC serves more than half of all infants in the U.S. and a quarter of all children ages 1-5 years. Despite the reach of these programs, there is still room for improvement, especially when it comes to increasing access to healthy food items and improving eating habits. The objective of this paper is to make recommendations for how WIC and SNAP can work better together to continue to incentivize purchases and support low-income population’s knowledge and access to healthier food choices, particularly those foods that have traditionally been most expensive – fruits and vegetables.

scholarly journals Strengthening the Public Health Impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Through Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 453-480
Author(s):  
Sara N. Bleich ◽  
Alyssa J. Moran ◽  
Kelsey A. Vercammen ◽  
Johannah M. Frelier ◽  
Caroline G. Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of the US nutrition safety net. Each month, SNAP provides assistance to 40 million low-income Americans—nearly half of them children. A number of changes could strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP. This review first presents a framework describing the mechanisms through which SNAP policy can influence public health, particularly by affecting the food security, the diet quality, and, subsequently, the health of SNAP participants. We then discusspolicy opportunities with the greatest potential to strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP, organized into three areas: ( a) food production and distribution, ( b) benefit allocation, and ( c) eligibility and enrollment. For each section, we describe current policy and limitations of the status quo, suggest evidence-based opportunities for policy change to improve public health, and identify important areas for future research.

scholarly journals Accelerating Evaluation of Financial Incentives for Fruits and Vegetables: A Case for Shared Measures

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12140
Author(s):  
Nadine Budd Nugent ◽  
Carmen Byker Shanks ◽  
Hilary K. Seligman ◽  
Hollyanne Fricke ◽  
Courtney A. Parks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
The U.S

Food insecurity, or lack of consistent access to enough food, is associated with low intakes of fruits and vegetables (FVs) and higher risk of chronic diseases and disproportionately affects populations with low income. Financial incentives for FVs are supported by the 2018 Farm Bill and United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and aim to increase dietary quality and food security among households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and with low income. Currently, there is no shared evaluation model for the hundreds of financial incentive projects across the U.S. Despite the fact that a majority of these projects are federally funded and united as a cohort of grantees through GusNIP, it is unclear which models and attributes have the greatest public health impact. We explore the evaluation of financial incentives in the U.S. to demonstrate the need for shared measurement in the future. We describe the process of the GusNIP NTAE, a federally supported initiative, to identify and develop shared measurement to be able to determine the potential impact of financial incentives in the U.S. This commentary discusses the rationale, considerations, and next steps for establishing shared evaluation measures for financial incentives for FVs, to accelerate our understanding of impact, and support evidence-based policymaking.

Exploring Options to Improve the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

2019 ◽  
Vol 686 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Retail Outlets ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program, is a cornerstone of the U.S. safety net. SNAP provides means-tested electronic vouchers that can be used to purchase most foods at participating retail outlets and helps low-income families afford the food that they need. It also helps to stabilize the economy in fiscal downturns, because more benefits are paid when jobs and income are scarce. SNAP households range widely in their demographic characteristics, from those with elderly or disabled members, to prime-age families (typically with children) who combine work and benefit receipt, to those with no or very low levels of income. Potential reforms, such as policies to encourage work or improve dietary outcomes, may have different impacts on various subgroups and should be designed with the heterogeneity of the caseload in mind. I review the theoretical and empirical research literature on SNAP’s impacts and consider potential reforms by analyzing them in terms of the program’s stated goals.

Means-Tested Safety Net Programs and Hispanic Families: Evidence from Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC

2021 ◽  
Vol 696 (1) ◽  
pp. 274-305
Author(s):  
Marianne Bitler ◽  
Lisa A. Gennetian ◽  
Christina Gibson-Davis ◽  
Marcos A. Rangel
Keyword(s):  
Safety Net ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Hispanic Families ◽  
Hispanic Mothers ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Antipoverty Programs ◽  
Immigrant Politics

Hispanic families have historically used means-tested assistance less than high-poverty peers, and one explanation for this may be that anti-immigrant politics and policies are a barrier to program participation. We document the participation of Hispanic children in three antipoverty programs by age and parental citizenship and the correlation of participation with state immigrant-based restrictions. Hispanic citizen children with citizen parents participate in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid more than Hispanic citizen children with noncitizen parents. Foreign-born Hispanic mothers use Medicaid less than their socioeconomic status would suggest. However, little evidence exists that child participation in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) varies by mother’s nativity: foreign-born mothers of Hispanic infants participate in WIC at higher rates than U.S.-born Hispanic mothers. State policies that restrict immigrant program use correlate to lower SNAP and Medicaid uptake among citizen children of foreign-born Hispanic mothers. WIC participation may be greater because it is delivered through nonprofit clinics, and WIC eligibility for immigrants is largely unrestricted.

scholarly journals Association of WIC Participation and Growth and Developmental Outcomes in High-Risk Infants

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Ashwini Lakshmanan ◽  
Ashley Y. Song ◽  
Nicole Flores-Fenlon ◽  
Urvashi Parti ◽  
Douglas L. Vanderbilt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Wic Participation ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
High Risk Infants ◽  
Bayley Scales

The objective of this study was to describe the association of enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and infant growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Z scores and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development–Third Edition (Bayley-III) and Vineland Adaptive/Behavior Scale–II (VABS-II) scores represented primary outcomes. We conducted bivariate analyses and linear regression. Children who were enrolled in WIC or WIC/SNAP had weight z scores U (95% confidence interval [CI]) that were 1.32 (0.42-2.21) or 1.19 (0.16-2.23) units higher. Enrollment in WIC or WIC/SNAP was associated with a higher score (95% CI) of 11.7 U (1.2-22.2 U) or 11.5 (0.1-22.9) for Bayley-III cognitive score and 10.1 U (1.9-19.1 U) or 10.3 (0.9-19.7) for the VABS-II composite score. These findings support increased advocacy for participation in WIC or WIC/SNAP for families with high-risk infants.

Effectiveness of mobile produce markets in increasing access and affordability of fruits and vegetables among low-income seniors

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (17) ◽  
pp. 3226-3235
Author(s):  
Reece Lyerly ◽  
Pasquale Rummo ◽  
Sarah Amin ◽  
Whitney Evans ◽  
Eliza Dexter Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rhode Island ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

AbstractObjective:Mobile produce markets (MPM) offering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) incentive programmes have the potential to provide accessible and affordable fruits and vegetables (FV) to populations at risk of food insecurity. The objective of this study is to characterise the customer base of an MPM and describe their participation at twelve market sites serving low-income seniors.Design:In 2018, customers from an MPM in Rhode Island (RI) participated in a cross-sectional survey (n 330; 68 % response rate), which measured dietary patterns, food security and food shopping behaviours. We compared the shopping habits and market experiences of customers who currently received SNAP benefits with those who did not currently receive SNAP benefits.Setting:An MPM in RI which offers a 50 % discount for FV purchased with SNAP benefits.Participants:This study describes current market customers at twelve market sites serving low-income seniors.Results:Market customers were mostly low-income, female, over the age of 50 years and Hispanic/Latino. Most customers received SNAP benefits, and almost half were food insecure. In addition, three quarters of SNAP customers reported their SNAP benefits last longer since shopping at the markets. Mixed logistic regression models indicated that SNAP customers were more likely to report buying and eating more FV than non-SNAP customers.Conclusions:MPM are critical resources of affordable produce and have been successful in improving access to FV among individuals of low socio-economic status in RI. This case study can inform policy and programme recommendations for MPM and SNAP incentive programmes.

Role of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Improving Diet Quality: Implications for Nurses

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Victoria M. Pak ◽  
Erin Ferranti ◽  
Ingrid Duva ◽  
Melissa Owen ◽  
Sandra B. Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Health Goals ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides access to healthy food for low-income individuals and households. Food security, however, does not necessarily achieve higher diet quality for beneficiaries. Diet quality is an important consideration for the development and management of chronic illness, a significant public health concern. In this study, we review incentives and disincentives implemented to improve the diet quality, the evidence on SNAP including benefits, challenges, and the politics of funding. New interventions and policies will be needed in order to improve the overall diet quality of SNAP households. SNAP should align with nutritional science to meet national public health goals. Nurses are trusted advocates for patients and the public and are uniquely positioned to aid in this effort. Informed by evidence, nurses willing to leverage their influence, can lead this needed change.

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